1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bar code scanners in general and, more particularly, to an improved hand-held laser bar code scanner having an improved compact, ergonomic scanner housing for use in a variety of scanning environments.
2. Description of the Background
Bar code symbols have been widely used for years in many environments, including point-of-sale (POS) stations in retail stores and supermarkets, inventory management, document and parcel tracking, and other diverse data acquisition applications. To meet the growing demands of users of bar code technology, bar code symbol readers of various types and constructions have been developed for scanning bar code symbols on objects and producing symbol character data for use as input in an automated data processing system, including hand-held bar code readers, in-counter or pass-through bar code readers, and presentation type bar code readers. These different types of readers can be either single-line, in that a single scan line is produced for reading bar codes on an object when the bar code is in a particular orientation with respect to the single scan line, or omnidirectional, in that the bar code can be read regardless of its orientation with respect to the multi-line scan pattern.
In general, prior art hand-held, laser based, single-line bar code symbol readers can be classified into two major categories. The first category includes laser hand-held scanners that have a manually-activated trigger mechanism for initiating laser scanning and bar code symbol reading operations. In use, the scanner is held in front of the object bearing a bar code symbol and the scanner head is aimed at the bar code symbol. The user then manually activates the scanner to initiate reading by pulling or depressing a trigger mechanism on the housing of the bar code scanner. When the scanner has successfully read the bar code, the laser is turned off and cannot be reactivated without a second pull of the trigger. Prior art bar code symbols readers illustrative of this first category are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,575,562; 4,825,057; 4,387,297; 4,409,470; 4,593,186; 4,897,532, 4,806,742; 4,835,374; 5,017,765; 5,047,617; 5,021,641; 5,180,904; 5,247,162; 5,468,949; and 5,600,121.
These types of scanners are typically gun-shaped so that the user can aim the scanner head and scanner window (or aperture) at the bar code to be scanned, and pull the trigger to activate the laser, the scanning mechanism and other components of the scanner as necessary. However, there are drawbacks to such a manually activated system including: the requirement that the user must pull the trigger for each scan, whether or not it is the same bar code; the potential for repetitive stress injuries from repetitively pulling the trigger to activate the scanner; and the inability to use a triggered scanner in a hands-free presentation mode without adding extra components or requiring the scanner to be turned on for long periods of time resulting in a decrease in laser life and an increased risk of injury.
The second category of laser hand-held bar code symbol readers includes scanners that have automatically-activated mechanisms (i.e. triggerless) for initiating laser scanning and bar code reading operations. In use, the scanner is held in front of the object bearing a bar code symbol and the scanner head is aimed at the bar code symbol. The mechanism for automatically activating the scanner detects either the presence of an object, the presence of a bar code, or both. Once the presence of an object and/or bar code is detected, laser scanning is initiated and the bar code symbol is read. A variety of mechanisms for automatically activating a bar code scanner have been disclosed in the prior art, including an infrared beam, a low-power laser beam, and an ultrasonic beam. Prior art devices illustrative of this second category of hand-held laser scanners are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,639,606; 4,933,538; 5,340,971; 5,340,973; 5,424,992; 5,468,951; 5,484,992; 5,528,024; 5,525,789; 5,661,292; 5,742,043; 5,796,091; 5,798,730; and 5,828,048.
Automatically activated scanners solve many of the problems found in traditional triggered scanners. There is no need to constantly reactivate the scanner between scans. There is no risk of repetitive stress injuries because no triggered is pulled. Automatically activated scanners can easily be used in a hands-free presentation mode because the activation mechanism works in both a hand-held or hands-free mode. However, there are drawbacks to the automatic scanners as well.
It can be difficult to employ automatic scanners in a crowded POS environment where there is a high chance of inadvertently scanning unwanted items. Bar code menus such as are often found at home improvement and hardware stores present one type of situation where an automatic scanner is at a disadvantage. Also, moving the automatic scanner across a counter area crowded with objects may produce an unwanted scan when the scanner automatically detects an object.
Some of these disadvantages of automatic scanners have been resolved by employing a data transmission switch such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,375, which is commonly assigned to Applicant, Metrologic Instruments, Inc., and is incorporated herein by reference thereto. The data transmission switch disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,375 allows a user of an automatic scanner to transmit decoded scan data to the host only upon the manual activation of a data transmission control signal by the user. The control signal is the form a switch located on the scanner housing that is depressed by the user when the scan line produced by the scanner is positioned over the bar code symbol that is to be acquired. When the switch is depressed the decoded scan data representative of the desired bar code is then transmitted to the host for further processing.
The present application provides for a scanner that is compact in construction, employs a modular type of construction for ease of manufacture and includes an improved scanner housing for a laser bar code symbol reader that incorporates either a manually activated trigger or an automatic trigger with a data transmission switch that is integrated into the scanner housing with an LED display. The improved scanner housing further incorporates an integrated scanner stand to allow the scanner to rest on a flat surface and provide for a finger-accommodating recess to allow a user to easily pick up the scanner for use.
The positioning of the data transmission switch on the upper side of the scanner head portion in conjunction with the angle of the scanner housing between the scanner head portion and the scanner handle portion provides the user with an ergonomically correct position for depressing the data activation switch.
Consequently, it would be greatly advantageous to provide a compact scanner configuration capable of providing a greater degree of ergonomic comfort and control over the bar code symbol reading processes to ensure aggressive hand-supported scanning by a user.